An epidemiological study of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Kashan (2007-2008)

Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a parasitological disease, which is common between human and animals. This disease cause always serious health problems for the human communities. This disease is prevalent in many parts of the world. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a prevalent parasitological disease with diverse clinical manifestations in Iran. It is an important health problem in many parts of Iran as well and its incidence has doubled over the last decade. This study was designed to determine the epidemiology of CL in Kashan during 2007- 2008. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 5098 persons were randomly selected in thirteen rural and urban districts of Kashan. The disease was diagnosed based on clinical examination and microscopic observation of the parasite in the ulcer site. The patient's information such as age, sex, job, number and sites of ulcer(s) or scar(s), date and place of the ulcer, and results of clinical examination and laboratory tests were recorded. Data analysis was performed using statistical Ki-square test. Results: The prevalence rate of disease in 5089 inhabitants studied was 6.4%. One hundred and three persons (2%) had active ulcers and 223 persons (4.4%) had scar. Fifty three out of 200(26.5%) infected male suffering from CL, and fifty out of 126 (39.7%) infected female had active ulcer (P=0.013) The highest frequency and the least infected age groups were observed in 20-29 years old patients with a rate of 23.3% and 0-9 years old with the rate of 7.8%, respectively. 49.5% of the infected cases were under 30 years old. 64.1% of the patients had one and 35.9% had two or more ulcers. The most common location of ulcers were on hands (46.6%) and then on feet, on face and on the other parts of the body. 75.8% of the patients were infected in Kashan city. The estimated rate for CL incidence was approximately 37.6 cases in 100000 people in Kashan during 2007-2008 Conclusion: The prevalence and incidence rate of CL are higher than expected rate in Kashan city. Such a high prevalence and incident rate is alarming and require control and prevention measures. Further epidemiological investigations of disease particularly CL are suggested